Women were not to be alone with Salmond in Bute House, court told

Women were stopped from working alone with Alex Salmond in Bute House – the first minister’s official residence – after an alleged sexual assault, a jury has heard.

A complainer, known as Woman G, told the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday she raised concerns about the alleged incident in 2014 and this led to a change in staffing rules.

Salmond, the former first minister of Scotland, is on trial over accusations of sexual assault, including an attempted rape.

The 65-year-old denies all the charges.

The woman, a Scottish Government official who is the fifth complainer to give evidence at the trial, said she felt like a “plaything” after she was allegedly smacked on the behind by Salmond in a previous incident in Glasgow.

Woman G said: “Women were not to be alone with Mr Salmond in Bute House and he was not to receive any civil service private support” in the evening “unless there was specific Government business to attend to”.

It was heard Salmond made “inappropriate comments” during the alleged incident at the official residence, such as “what I would do to you if I were 26”.

She added: “I thought it meant that he would try to have sex with me, to have sexual relations with me.

“He had his arm around me and at that point I started to feel panic and he leaned in to kiss me.”

She claimed she got up and said she had to go, leaving Salmond looking “defeated”.